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| I am having too much fun with collages this week... |
I have been excited about this for years. The 1920s are a decade I would jump to if I could time travel. But before we get too far in to what I am sure will be the BEST decade I want to look back on the 2010s.
A brief summary of each year:
2010: Started off pretty terrible, but quickly rebounded with my acceptance into grad school. I also joined the Junior League of Norman and got more involved at CrossTimbers. I also had an EPIC birthday party and I learned about how to work a swimming pool. I went to NYC for Christmas and got snowed in and went on my first Broadway stage. A bunch of my favorite faces were born.
2011: I turned 30 and lost my mind deciding I was going to move to New York. I didn't, but I thought about it. CrossTimbers kept me in Oklahoma. There were some devastating losses that year that I'd rather not go into because the wounds are still fresh. I was asked to be a chair for JLN and was chosen as Community VP for the next year. I went to DC and NYC and marked some things off my bucket list. And I saw New Kids of on the Block again.
2012: I finished my Masters. I finished a half marathon (I walked, I don't run...if you see me running you should probably run too actually). I got REALLY involved at CrossTimbers and it completely became my second home...or my first home depending upon who you asked. I had to make the agonizing decision to resign as Community VP for JLN, but was then asked to be on the Board for Bridges. CTCare started. Oh and my job moved from DHS to OMES.
2013: The beginning of what I call the worst twenty-four months of my life. It started out with my car getting totaled, which in the grand scheme of things wasn't that bad. I made a new friend because of it. I got a promotion. Then May 20 my life, along with so many people I loved, was turned upside down by a devastating tornado ripping through Moore, OK. Several families from CT lost their homes and nearly everyone else had damage. I got to run the church for a few days while Chris and Jenn were tending to their devastated home and neighborhood. There was point over the summer where a friend told me she thought the light would never come back to my eyes. And then it did. Through the devastation I finally learned what true contentment was. Also, the deaths started: two of my sweet youth group girls lost their grandmothers. I also went to NYC to end the year.
2014: I was optimistic for 2014 because I didn't think it could possibly get worse. Never, ever say that. Very quick recap: Chris was reassigned, a youth group member died, CT chartered, the Dodsons moved, CT changed, and we had our first CT funeral, which devastated everyone. Through this I learned that I grieve through caring (it was so appropriate that I ran a ministry called Care). My job through all of this was to care for the people and I did it like my life depended upon it and at times, I think it did. I even thought about going to seminary for a brief while. Things kept not fitting in my life. Things that seemed a no brainer just didn't happen. I was passed over for a few jobs and positions in organizations and I didn't understand why, but by the end of the year it became clear that all of this was a set up because life was about to change, drastically.
2015: Once again, it couldn't be worse than 2014, right? Let's see...I did half marathon #2. And then my house flooded...three times. I moved in with the Parkers for a month and then moved home for a month while my house was being finished. The part I didn't anticipate was staying. There was a time in my life where someone from my past said that I wouldn't do something and I did in anyway out of spite and ended up a shell of myself. This time I let life happen as it wanted and I moved back to Ardmore. I auditioned for a play and got a good part and my love for theatre was reignited.
2016: The year of Hamilton. I say that somewhat in jest, but also with complete sincerity. In 2015 my friend Whitney went to see it the day after it opened and that was long before any of the buzz started in Oklahoma, but something told me it would be special. I decided I was going to see it, even though tickets were next to impossible to get. It was meant to be so I would go to New York and I would win the lottery. But I didn't. And I cried. A lot. I did, however, see what would become one of my all time favorite musicals: Finding Neverland. I got home and decided to pull the plug and spend the money and go see the original cast before they were gone. I won't lie, it was a lot of money, but it was worth every penny because it taught me that New York isn't that far away and I can hop on a plane whenever I want and I'm there. I also knew from the first note and light cue that theatre was my life. At that moment I thought I was going to move to New York and be a stage manager (I was SMing Mary Poppins at the time), but then the director at Bridges resigned. I emailed and asked what had happened because she LOVED her job and she taught me more about non profits than any class could. She said that she had been there about ten years and she loved the organization so much that it was time for her to step aside so someone with fresh eyes could help it grow to what it had the potential to be. Whoa. This made me rethink everything, especially living in Ardmore. What if I went back to Norman as the director of the non profit I love? It was a fleeting thought, but one that reminded me how much I love teenagers and that they HAD to be part of my life. (In the literary world they call this foreshadowing). Mary Poppins brought the best people into my life who are still there today. In the fall I got the opportunity to start tap dancing again with an instructor who saw my ability and encouraged it: giving me the confidence to walk into a studio in New York and take a class and by putting me in a duet with him at our recital, the day we opened, which is one of my favorite memories. In 2016 I went to New York four times, DC once, and left on a cruise. I also started counting shows (52).
2017: Started on a boat in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. I really hate cruises by the way. I went to New York three times and Chicago once. I saw Hamilton twice and bought tickets for 2018 in London. I saw Wayne Brady as Aaron Burr. I had a canceled flight that turned into an adventure with strangers and a Telecharge angel. I saw all the shows nominated for a Tony for Best Musical before the Tonys and almost went to the Tonys. I came back from New York in June to a job that I hated and the epiphany that I wanted to be a teacher. I came up with a five year plan which turned into about a five week plan that was really a a five day plan when you got right down to it. I took a huge leap of faith and totally changed careers from an IT supervisor with a big paycheck to a humble middle school drama teacher who budgets well. The pay cut was completely worth it and was the embodiment of everything I realized the summer before. I made some new friends and staged managed a perfect show: Little Women. I went on a school trip to Denver which was amazing and had a perfect weekend a few weeks later. There was about a month in there that was as close to perfect as I could imagine at the time. The end of the year was a bit bumpy though and I ended up seeing 78 shows.
2018: Not my favorite. The year started bumpy and only got worse. Dear friends almost lost their five month old. Some 'friends' showed their true colors. I tried to get over sadness in New York and for the first time ever it didn't work. I became close to some amazing teenagers. I reconnected with some old friends. But I was still sad so I lumped all my personal days together and went to London. I was at the opening of one of my favorite plays: Children of a Lesser God starring one of my favorite actors, Joshua Jackson. I flew to London and saw a little bit of a lot of things. My flight got canceled in the middle of the night and I had to rebook and ended up with a layover in Shannon, Ireland, aka, that two hours when no one in the world knew where in the world I was. It was liberating. Over the summer I went to New York with Crystal and saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I went to Florida. I went to Denver. I started stage managed Crazy For You which started a six show streak of working shows. I met lots of new people and I saw 65 shows.
2019: I just wrote about this one a few hours ago, but the short version. People showed their true colors, some were beautiful and some were ugly. I have distanced myself from things and people that are toxic for me. I learned to act in love first and foremost. I directed a show. My kids won a state championship. I reconnected with old friends. I made new friends. I struggled with mental health and lived to tell the tale. I challenged my students and they rose to the occasion. I learned who my real friends were. I had an unforgettable and amazing summer. I had a perfect day. I went to New York three times. I saw 78 shows.
The 2010s were a lot. I have told people that I'm like a cat and have had multiple lives and it's true. Just looking at what happened in these ten years shows at least three completely different groups of people and jobs. Some other big stats:
- I started a blog (four actually...)
- I got pink highlights
- Then got almost all pink hair
- And got purple once
- I learned about lipstick
- I got glasses
- I completed a marathon (in two halves...three years apart...and I walked...but it counts!)
- I learned to travel alone...and found out I love it
- I met a lot of people
- I cried a lot
- I didn't cry a lot
- I lost people
- I gained people
- I heard hundreds of stories
- I learned a lot
- I was impacted by people
- I inspired people (all your counts make my heart happy!)
- I made the best friends
- I traveled
PS
During the 2010s I bought a whole bunch of hair tools and finally, last night, on the last day of the decade, I figured out a styling method I love...with a curling iron. :D
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